Analog opens in Oakland, with beer, sandwiches and 45s

The theme devised by co-owners Sean Asmar and Arianna Alcala is decidedly non-digital, and includes VHS tapes and movies, cathode-ray-tube TV (with original Nintendo!), and even a jukebox filled with 45 records of music from classic ’50s all the way through to modern Oakland bands.

“I was a record collector and VHS tape collector, so I got the idea a few years ago to do a bar with an analog theme,” Asmar tells Scoop. “I think a lot of people are into that these days, and with the ever-growing digital market, there’s kind of a growing value in having something tangible that you can hold and see.”

The offerings at Analog are similarly simple and straightforward, as evidenced by their tagline: “Suds & Grub.”

For food, along with a couple of salads, sandwiches dominate the menu. Asmar, formerly a chef at the vegan-friendly Bender’s bar in San Francisco, splits the choices between five meat and five vegan sandwiches served on Acme bread. The The Fine Young Carnivores: Side A includes the Jive Turkey and Rick Rubin pastrami. The Like a Vegan: Side B features a Hail Seitan—housemade BBQ seitan with pickled onions and citrus slaw—and “The Young and the Breastless—buffalo Chick’n with vegan ranch dressing. They clearly had some fun with the menu, as you can see:

“I’ve been a cook for years and watched chefs do all kinds of things, and with my own food I’m a firm believer in keeping things simple,” he says. “It’s not about complicated 48-hour preparation; just keep things very basic, use local ingredients that are around you, and don’t go over the top. Simpler is better—as long as you nail it.”

Analog is a pretty tight space, at around 1,000-square feet, but Asmar and Alcala have plenty of plans to keep things lively: Look out for record swaps, periodic pop-up dinners from Hella Vegan Eats catering, and a Sunday vegan brunch with Colleen Downey, sous chef of San Francisco’s soon-to-close Millennium restaurant.